Review by Ian Keogh

The Nice House on the Lake is an Eisner Award winning story better absorbed in a complete book compiling all twelve chapters rather than having to jump from Volume One to Volume Two. It’s science-fiction tinged horror, but most of all a meticulously composed character study.

Ten people receive an invitation to a holiday in a spectacular house with a lake view. A few know each other of old, and the primary connection between everyone is that at some time they’ve been a close friend of Walter. He’s an occasionally distant man whom flashbacks reveal has always been on a quest to discover the best among his friends. As it’s revealed so early, it’s no great spoiler to disclose Walter is an alien whose race have destroyed the world, and he’s been able to save a selection of folk now classified according to their trade.

James Tynion IV isn’t concerned with the bigger picture, but with the characters of the survivors, each of whom introduces a chapter from a point in the future when something’s gone seriously wrong. Flashbacks feature regularly showing how the cast knew each other and Walter in the past, and in the present day they discover only the house and surrounding woods have survived Earth’s destruction. This gradually builds into a more co-ordinated discovery of the parameters of their surroundings, and how they can be modified. Both mysteries and disclosures are compelling as we come to know and understand the cast.

They’re attractively presented by Álvaro Martínez Bueno as graphic-styled realism similar to that employed by Mike Deodato. The process material shows that because the house is so central Bueno drew plans and sketches to ensure consistency of viewpoints and surroundings no matter where the cast are within. Each person is distinctive, and Bueno has a great visual tick for a disoriented Walter. The entire effect is cemented via stunningly applied colouring by Jordie Bellaire.

It’s entrenched from the start that wholesale changes can come about, but it’s a device sparingly used by Tynion, and to best effect when the rug is pulled halfway through. We learn of an ambitious plan on Walter’s part, with the flaw being despite a manipulative personality, he’s not entirely capable of understanding human nature. He can erase memories, but undervalues the concept of free will.

A stunning experience awaits, and it’s just the opening statement of world Tynion and Bueno explore further with a different cast in The Nice House by the Sea.